UPSC 2014 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, Qila-i-Kuhna Masjid. This mosque stands inside the Purana Qila in Delhi and was built by Sher Shah Suri around 1541, during the Sur interregnum that interrupted Mughal rule, so it belongs to a period before Shah Jahan was born. Its five arched bays in red sandstone with marble inlay are counted among the finest pre-Mughal mosques of Delhi. Shah Jahan, who ruled from 1628 to 1658, is the great builder of the dynasty: he raised Shahjahanabad with its Red Fort, the Taj Mahal at Agra and the Peacock Throne. Option A is wrong because the Moti Masjid, the pearl mosque in white marble, was built in the Agra Fort in his reign. Option C is wrong because the Jama Masjid of Delhi, the largest mosque in India, was completed under him in 1656. Option D is wrong because the Rang Mahal is one of the painted palaces of his Red Fort. Exam tip: Purana Qila and its Qila-i-Kuhna Masjid belong to Sher Shah Suri, not the Mughals.

The correct answer is C, Lokayata and Kapalika. Neither of these belongs to the six orthodox systems, so this is the pair that stands outside. The six systems, called the Shad Darshanas, are Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta, and all six accept the authority of the Vedas. They are usually learnt in three pairs: Samkhya with Yoga, Nyaya with Vaisheshika, and Mimamsa with Vedanta. Lokayata is the materialist school also called Charvaka, which rejects the Vedas, the soul and life after death, and is therefore counted as heterodox along with Buddhism and Jainism. Kapalika was a Shaiva tantric sect, a religious order rather than a school of philosophy. A is wrong because Mimamsa and Vedanta are the two schools built on the Vedas themselves. B is wrong because Nyaya supplies Indian logic and Vaisheshika its atomism. D is wrong because Samkhya and Yoga form the oldest pair among the six. Exam tip: orthodox means Veda-accepting; Charvaka, Buddhism and Jainism are the three heterodox schools.

The correct answer is D, Tenth Schedule. The Tenth Schedule carries the anti-defection provisions, so a legislator who deserts the party on whose ticket he or she was elected can be disqualified under it. The schedule was inserted by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1985 and applies to members of Parliament and of the state legislatures alike. A member loses the seat for voluntarily giving up party membership or for voting against the party whip, and the presiding officer of the House decides such a case. A merger escapes disqualification only when at least two-thirds of the members of that legislature party agree to it. A is wrong because the Second Schedule fixes the salaries and allowances of the President, Governors, judges and other high offices. B is wrong because the Fifth Schedule deals with the administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes. C is wrong because the Eighth Schedule lists the recognised languages of India. Exam tip: link the pair - Tenth Schedule with the 52nd Amendment of 1985.

The correct answer is A, 1 only. The Harike Wetland in Punjab was created by building a barrage just below the point where the Beas joins the Sutlej, so the first pair is correct and it is the only one. Option B is wrong because it accepts the second pair, and Keoladeo Ghana National Park at Bharatpur is a man-made wetland fed by the Gambhir and Banganga through the Ajan Bandh, not a site at the meeting of the Banas and the Chambal. Option C is wrong because it accepts the third pair, and Kolleru Lake in Andhra Pradesh lies between the deltas of the Krishna and the Godavari, drained by the Upputeru, and not at any confluence of the Musi with the Krishna. Option D is wrong because it accepts both of those mismatched pairs. In matching questions of this kind, one certain pair is often enough to reach the answer by elimination.